Lakers agree to deal for Hibbert, sources say
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ESPN Senior Writer• Senior NBA writer for ESPN.com
• Began covering the NBA in 1993-94
• Also covered soccer, tennis and the Olympics
The Lakers and Indiana Pacers have agreed to a trade that will send All-Star center Roy Hibbert to Los Angeles, according to league sources.
While the exact framework of the deal still is being discussed, sources said, “It’ll get done.”
Sources say it will be completed after Thursday, when the leaguewide moratorium on player movement is lifted.
The Lakers will absorb Hibbert’s $15.5 million salary for next season into their salary-cap space, sources said.
The Lakers were snubbed in free agency by high-profile targets such as LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan, as well as second-tier big men such as Greg Monroe and Robin Lopez.
The obvious next step for the Lakers is to trade for a big man in the final year of his contract who won’t impact L.A.’s free agency plans for the summer of 2016, making Hibbert and former Golden State Warriors All-Star forward David Lee two natural targets.
But sources said Saturday that the Lakers are not actively pursuing Lee at the moment.
The Lakers’ draft night decision to select guard D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 overall pick, as opposed to a big man such as Jahlil Okafor or Kristaps Porzingis, has made finding a big man their priority in the short term.
Pacers president Larry Bird has made it fairly obvious since the end of Indiana’s season that Hibbert is no longer in the club’s plans. The Pacers were hoping that Hibbert would opt for free agency this summer, but he elected to exercise his player option for the coming season valued at $15.5 million.
As ESPN.com reported on draft night, when Hibbert’s decision to opt in became known, Indiana pledged then to try to trade its interior defensive anchor as it pursues a faster playing style. To speed its team up, Indiana struck a deal earlier this week with free-agent guard Monta Ellis, reaching terms with Ellis on a four-year, $44 million deal to sign him away from the Dallas Mavericks.
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